Quote:
Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire
It also made a list of earthquake-vulnerable buildings in 1979... I guess it was retrofitted, and I'm glad it--and you--survived, ER.
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I worked on the second floor of a two-story building similar to this one that underwent retrofitting, right before the big quake of 1994. (And it's my opinion if our building had not been retrofitted, at least some parts of the outside walls would have collapsed.) If your business is tryng to stay open during the process it is not particularly enjoyable. It's akin to putting toothpicks in large sandwiches so they don't fall apart.
If you look at the photo below, on the left, notice the area in between the first and second floors. You see what look to be small squares, which are metal plates, and what looks in the photo like a small dot is the bolt end of a long metal rod that's been inserted between the floors. It entails the ripping up inside of several feet from the wall end of the second floor, or first floor ceiling, depending on how the owner(s) want it done. This job looks to be quite well-done and uniform. Often they are not. I've seen the rows of metal plates and/or bolts on many buildings to be haphazard and not uniform at all, including the plates which could appear square or diamond shape or any which way along the row, especially if they are on the brick wall sides facing alleys. And this building is one of very few I've seen with these painted over.
Also, I am not sure at all if other cities in the U.S. do earthquake retrofitting like this, but I have seen movies shot in locations where it is supposed to be New York, say, and I'll see scenes in alleys where you see these retrofitted bolts and I have to believe they were shot in Los Angeles. (Like Spiderman, for one.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality
The back of the building is exposed brick.
GSV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality
I heard there was a smallish earthquake in Los Angeles this morning.
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And, yes,
E_R, there
was a 4.4 jolt this morning about 6:25 a.m. Normally, 5.0 is where you'll definitely notice one no matter what time of day. Anything less than that and you may or may not depending where you are, but this one this morning woke me up and reminded me of the 1994 one in the way it was shaking. (It was more like an up & down jolt. Often times the quake is a "rolling" quake which feels more like a swing--the ground rolls back and forth.) Coupled with the fact it was a shallow quake and not deep underground and that it was centered in the Westwood area which is rather close, all those factors produced a very noticeable jolt. (And it lasted only about 10 seconds, unlike '94 which I believe was like 20-30 seconds.)
(I must reference that even though it was centered about 5 miles below the surface, geologists consider that a "shallow" quake and refer to it as "near the surface.")
By the way, some friends/relatives who have never experienced an earthquake seem to think that 10-20 seconds isn't that big a deal when talking about earthquakes. I always take their hand and then shake it wildly and count -- one-thousand one, one-thousand two, one-thousand three...etc. Then they usually say, "I get it!"